David Smith Interviewed on LAUSD Strike for the Los Angeles Times

A three-day strike by the Los Angeles Unified School District ended on March 23, reopening schools for students while labor negotiations continue. The strike was led by Local 99 of Service Employees International Union, which represents 30,000 gardeners, custodians, teacher aides, special education assistants, bus drivers, food service workers and others.

David Smith, professor of economics at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, gave his expert insight on the strike for the Los Angeles Times, explaining LAUSD’s “precarious negotiating position” with Local 99.

“Politically, the optics are not good when taxpayers see those kinds of dollars sitting in the bank,” Smith said in the interview. “As Los Angeles residents contend with higher costs of living and inflation, it makes it difficult to be sympathetic to the school district. Not to mention schoolteachers and workers are generally paid the lowest wages among professional workers.”

Read the full article in the Los Angeles Times.